Evander Kane did very well in his 1st playoff game

[darksabre]

I don't want to pick a fight with you sir but if you're going to deny 2/3 of your posts on Kane were negative ones when he was here, you need to see someone about your short term memory loss  :P

That's what I read into it also

You'd literally have to go back into the archives to find any major complaints from me about Kane. I've been pretty on his side for over a year now. My only issue with him recently was Housley playing him with Jack, which has more to do with Housley than Kane.

 

I think my feelings on Kane over his time here can be described most accurately as a mixed bag. 

[dudacek]

Losing culture simply means that too many people in the organization expect to lose.

Not like it, or necessarily even accept it, but they expect it, and it weighs them down.

 

We see evidence of this on the forum all the time.

Why would we expect it to be different in the organization?

[That Aud Smell]

I can't recall who said it -- Housley, Botterill, or both -- but I heard it said on WGR that the way to create a winning culture is ... to win.

 

You win, the winning culture comes. You don't install a winning culture, and then win.

 

It's a bit of chicken and the egg, eh?

 

It still intrigues me a bit. So, how do you win? Getting better players seems like a straightforward way to do it.

 

But we also hear about the need for the players to do dozens of "little things" that help ensure success and/or the players' best efforts, and also the need to buy into what the coaching staff is implementing (paging Mr. Ristolainen ...), and so on. So there does seem to be some need for a "winning culture" to precede the winning.

 

But mostly, you need to win to have a winning culture. And in order to win, you need good players and depth and competition. That is clearly JBOT's focus.

Edited April 13, 2018 by That Aud Smell

[Crusader1969]

Losing culture gets misconstrued as some kind of all-encompassing funk that hangs over a team.

 

What it really means is that a team just consistently fails to get the right mixture of talent, attitude, chemistry, work ethic, and leadership qualities. 

 

A losing culture can be a team with too much talent and no work ethic.  A losing culture can be a team with a ton of work ethic and no talent. Or a ton of talent and no chemistry. 

 

A winning culture is just a team that has managed to hit on the right mixture for an extended period of time. Perhaps there are some talented scouts or a talented GM or coach who has a good read for what guys bring what to that mixture.

 

You see winning cultures on teams like Boston where a group of guys really just works well together in the room (Marchand, Bergeron, Chara), and they hold things together through coaching and GM changes and roster turnover. They might turn into a total dumpster fire of a team when those guys retire. Who knows. 

 

Or maybe Boston just has really good players and lots of depth? Did the Blackhawks suddenly forget how to win this year? 

 

Its a BS argument, just like blaming the mindset of the Tank 3 years later.  

Replace the bottom end of the roster with more talent, improve the goal tending and you will win games. 

[CallawaySabres]

O'Reilly, Okposo and Reinhart did nothing out of the ordinary for the first half of the season. By the time they started coming around, loser mentality had already settled in with most.

[matter2003]

Maybe you should just call him Candy Cane since you cant spell his name properly.

 

Its Kane.

Edited April 13, 2018 by matter2003

[Eleven]

^ Yes, can someone please fix the title?  It's like a needle in my eye.

[French Collection]

what does that mean? He's a strong, fast winger who scores goals.

Always shoots regardless of another player being in a better position. Many shots are from bad angles or too far out. His default move was to carry the puck in, instead of Jack, ROR or another better distributor, and take a bad angle shot that missed the net and exited the zone.

 

 

I liked Evander but he wasn't staying here so let's move on with what we got for him.

[jsb]

I liked Evander but he wasn't staying here so let's move on with what we got for him.

If you don't offer him a contract, what did you expect?? Have him play here for free??

[TheAud]

Many said he's not a Buffalo guy and locker room cancer

Sure, some random yahoos said this. We don't know what Kane actually thinks or exactly how he was perceived, or Botteril's assessment of it. Kane was always very complimentary of the city and the team, for what that's worth.  And if he is a "cancer" (I am not saying he is) the Sharks only signed up for 6 weeks of the regular season and the playoffs. Not enough time to metastasize in their locker room. Whereas signing to a long term deal is another story. 

And none of that changes that he was an UFA and the chances of re-signing him within the context of the Sabres salary cap situation were probably close to zero. So he was traded at the deadline. 

[Sabre fan]

still cannot figure out how it is that on one hand we keep hearing hat this team had no talent or at least not nearly enough, yet we saw the same team beat some of the best teams in the NHL. And to prove it was no fluke, they beat the B's and the Bolts more then once. Also beat the leafs among other top teams. Leads me to wonder if the talent is there or not. Either way Kane is a beast and the exact kinda player this team needs.

[North Buffalo]

still cannot figure out how it is that on one hand we keep hearing hat this team had no talent or at least not nearly enough, yet we saw the same team beat some of the best teams in the NHL. And to prove it was no fluke, they beat the B's and the Bolts more then once. Also beat the leafs among other top teams. Leads me to wonder if the talent is there or not. Either way Kane is a beast and the exact kinda player this team needs.

They have enough talent if they put forth full effort to beat anyone, but not enough discipline and depth to be consistent. That is why they need wingers and be able to put hard working Jags on 3rd and fourth line. Plus they really need a pipeline of young players working their way up. Seems like JBots is establishing it, but itll be incremental improvement till fully implemented.

[Stoner]

Losing culture simply means that too many people in the organization expect to lose.

Not like it, or necessarily even accept it, but they expect it, and it weighs them down.

 

We see evidence of this on the forum all the time.

Why would we expect it to be different in the organization?

How do you think Eichel and O'Reilly, two players who burn, in different ways, after losses felt about Botterill considering this "an evaluation year"?

[Weave]

Losing culture simply means that too many people in the organization expect to lose.

Not like it, or necessarily even accept it, but they expect it, and it weighs them down.

 

We see evidence of this on the forum all the time.

Why would we expect it to be different in the organization?

 

 

I agree with this.  Culture in organizations is most definitely a thing.  Many a doctorate thesis has been based on it.  Look at your workplace and try to imagine how difficult it would be to change small operational mindsets.  A diverse environment with a common, accepted way of thinking/doing that many of the folks know is not the best way to do things.  Why is that?  Culture, in good part.

 

It usually is a result of leadership, but hwen the culture is ingrained even good leadership has to expend great effort to turn the ship. 

 

The Sabres leadership embraced acceptance of losing, and that acceptance is proving hard to let go of.

[PotentPowerPlay22]

Evander Kane is a very good hockey player. The Sabres were a bad team. He did pretty well on a very bad team.

 

There might be a separate thread for this subject, but why has Phil Housley been given a free pass for the Sabres demise this year? I've heard virtually nothing pointing the blame at him. Maybe I just haven't noticed amidst all the other failures.

[Eleven]

Evander Kane is a very good hockey player. The Sabres were a bad team. He did pretty well on a very bad team.

 

There might be a separate thread for this subject, but why has Phil Housley been given a free pass for the Sabres demise this year? I've heard virtually nothing pointing the blame at him. Maybe I just haven't noticed amidst all the other failures.

 

You've gotta read this board a little more.  There has been plenty of finger-pointing, "it's Housley's fault," "give him time," and "he's great!" all over.

 

I'm not sure what camp I'm in, although I will admit that I celebrated the hire.

Edited April 13, 2018 by Eleven

[dudacek]

There might be a separate thread for this subject, but why has Phil Housley been given a free pass for the Sabres demise this year? I've heard virtually nothing pointing the blame at him. Maybe I just haven't noticed amidst all the other failures.

Housley has a few vocal critics and very few (can’t think of any, actually) vocal defenders.

I’d say free pass on this season is probably true for most forum regulars.

Or rather than free pass, it’s better described as a moratorium.

 

The talent and the dressing room issues have taken centre stage for the time being with a general realization in the wake of chasing off Bylsma that the problems run deeper than the coach.

 

Next season will bring different players and it remains to be seen if our anger over a slow start is aimed first at Eichel, Housley, or Botterill.

Edited April 13, 2018 by dudacek

[Stoner]

Evander Kane is a very good hockey player. The Sabres were a bad team. He did pretty well on a very bad team.

 

There might be a separate thread for this subject, but why has Phil Housley been given a free pass for the Sabres demise this year? I've heard virtually nothing pointing the blame at him. Maybe I just haven't noticed amidst all the other failures.

The refrain has been even Scotty Bowman couldn't win with these guys. But finish dead last? No way. Something was very much amiss, and it's hard for me to see greatness out of Housley after this debacle. Also, FWIW, Botterill has gotten off easy, too. He had a draft, a free agent period, a trade deadline, a whole season. He turned over half the roster and they still stunk. He sat on his hands while the team burned early on, and the Kane deal was dreadful. Not a good start for either guy.

[bunomatic]

The refrain has been even Scotty Bowman couldn't win with these guys. But finish dead last? No way. Something was very much amiss, and it's hard for me to see greatness out of Housley after this debacle. Also, FWIW, Botterill has gotten off easy, too. He had a draft, a free agent period, a trade deadline, a whole season. He turned over half the roster and they still stunk. He sat on his hands while the team burned early on, and the Kane deal was dreadful. Not a good start for either guy.

I have to agree. I also agreed on both hires so ... I need to see improvement from both guys and the players to get on board with anyone working for this franchise. Sick of the losing but mostly sick of the excuses.

[Doohicksie]

It makes me sad that this was a thread to celebrate a former Sabre's first playoff game success and instead turned into yet another thread about how much the Sabres suck.

 

Give it a rest, guys.

 

And congrats, Evander.

[Andrew Amerk]

It makes me sad that this was a thread to celebrate a former Sabre's first playoff game success and instead turned into yet another thread about how much the Sabres suck.

 

Give it a rest, guys.

 

And congrats, Evander.

????????

[Wyldnwoody44]

I still think he's a giant POS.... But Good for him for playing for a good team

[PromoTheRobot]

Many said he's not a Buffalo guy and locker room cancer

They absolutely did, and worse. Lots of amnesia now. Edited April 14, 2018 by PromoTheRobot

[JohnnyK]

Sign him!!!!

that would make the trade look better!

[LGR4GM]

If they win the cup, do we get their 2018 first or is it still 2019?